E3 2009: Vancouver 2010 Hands On

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Ski, jump, land, be judged.

By Steve Butts

SEGA offered us the opportunity to play through a bit of their upcoming Winter Olympics game, Vancouver 2010, at E3 this year. The final game will ship with some fourteen events giving players the chance to get a little athletic action without having to brave the gangs of teenagers roaming the mean streets of the Canadian town.

The only event on display at E3 is the Individual Large Hill. This differs from previous Olympics video games in its first-person presentation. Players begin at the top of the ramp and have to time a number of important moves in order to score highly. First, they have to watch the wind angle and start their run when the wind is blowing as straight down the ramp as possible. You can either watch the angle meter swing back and forth or simply keep your eye on your coach who will drop a flag when conditions are just perfect.

After starting the run, you'll have to set the power of your push off by hitting the button just as a meter fills up. As you pick up speed, the edges of the screen start to blur. Towards the end of the ramp, you'll need to press and hold the button to build up your launch angle and then release the button at just the right moment to get the maximum distance off the end of the ramp.

Once in the air, you'll need to use the triggers to keep your skis balanced and your body vertical. This is, by far, the hardest part of the experience and requires a very light touch and very quick reflexes. To time your landing you'll need to keep an eye on another meter that quickly falls down the right side of the screen. Stop the meter too soon and you'll have a short jump; stop it too late and you'll be eating snow.

At the end of each jump, you'll be treated to a quick replay of the action from a more traditional broadcast perspective and get a chance to see your overall scores and individual rankings for each of the components of the jump.

So far Vancouver looks like it will offer a lot of varied gameplay. We're hopeful that the other events are just as cool.